All-American Bowl: Whose stock is on the move after Saturday
SAN ANTONIO - There were 100 of the top prospects in the country on the field for the big game in San Antonio on Saturday. Rivals.com was on hand all week with eyes on the talent-laden East and West squads, including the game in the Alamodome for bragging rights.
After the game, Rivals analysts Josh Helmholdt and Sam Spiegelman take a look at 14 prospects who’s stock is up and who’s stock is down following the All-American Bowl.
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STOCK UP
Anderson, a Rivals250 edge-rusher and Alabama signee, was arguably the top defensive end during the joint East-West practice earlier in the week and that momentum carried well into Saturday's All-American game. Anderson crashed the pocket and corralled Malik Hornsby for a sack to end the first half and notched a second big play behind the line of scrimmage as he brought down Ohio State signee CJ Stroud in the fourth quarter. Anderson finished the game with one sack and two tackles for loss.
Downs finished with the most receptions of any player in Saturday’s All-American Bowl, which should have been expected if you were reading our practice reports from the week. Downs was one of the smallest players in the game, but he is instant excitement with the football in his hands. His quickness and agility allow him to get open almost every play, and his quarterbacks found him often. Downs finished with nine receptions for 120 yards.
Gibbs, a Georgia Tech commitment, has enjoyed a big week of practice and in the Alamodome, showed how easily he could get the edge and proved difficult to bring down. More so, the Rivals250 running back showed some power running between the tackles and running through arm tackles. He finished the contest with 28 yards and averaged better than five yards per touch.
Hector was already having a good day before he capped off what was, arguably, the biggest play of Saturday’s game. Hector was johnny-on-the-spot when the East team snapped it over quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei’s head. Hector scooped it up at the 29-yard line and went the length of the field to extend the West’s lead in the third quarter. Besides the touchdowns, the Stanford signee also had several good open-field tackles and showed well in coverage.
Mayer, a Notre Dame signee, caught a touchdown pass from Uiagalelei. The future Irish tight end showed off a fantastic ability to make tough grabs in traffic and then finished off the reception by dragging a defender nearly 10 yards into the end zone. It seems like Brian Kelly found the next great tight end to come through South Bend.
McGlothern kicked the commitment announcements off by declaring his intentions to sign with LSU next month. He then went out and gave Tiger fans plenty to be excited about. McGlothern picked off Uiagalelei to end the first half, then jumped a screen pass in the third quarter and returned that for a touchdown. McGlothern spent the whole game in the hip pocket of the East wide receivers and the few times a ball was thrown his way the four-star was there to deny the reception.
The Washington wide receiver signee opened the game with style, catching a 75-yard pass from Alabama signee Bryce Young to put six on the scoreboard right off the bat. That 75-yard catch-and-run was the longest play of the game. McMillian finished the afternoon with three receptions for 98 yards and was second in receiving in the contest behind only the aforementioned Josh Downs.
The offensive lines do not get the headlines that the skill position players do in all-star games, but Ratledge is going to get his due in this column after a strong showing in Saturday’s All-American Bowl. Manning the right tackle position, Ratledge locked up his side of the line, keeping speed rushers at bay and driving his assignment out of the way on rushing plays. West defensive linemen were frustrated because they could not get past Ratledge.
Sewell, the athletic big man who signed with Oregon a month ago, was dynamic on both sides of the ball. You read that correctly. The five-star linebacker was not only physical for the West slowing down the run, but corralled an interception In the second half of the game. He also ran the field well in coverage on a handful of other incompletions forced by the West defense. Sewell then ripped off a big 30-yard run in the fourth quarter. Sewell finished with 4.5 tackles, including a TFL. He’s going to be awfully exciting to watch when he arrives in Eugene.
Kickers rarely get acknowledgment in all-star games, but Travelstead absolutely earned recognition. The future Louisville Cardinal started the East team’s scoring with a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter and hit a big 47-yard field goal in the second quarter. The East coaches opted to take those points off the board when the West committed a penalty, but Travelstead would hit again from 29 yards after the East offense stalled three plays later.
The nation's No. 1 quarterback was the top quarterback in San Antonio on Saturday. Uiagalelei did a little bit of everything for the East squad, making excellent throws downfield, into tight windows and using his legs to extend plays and pick up first downs when plays broke down. Uiagalelei threaded the needle on the touchdown to Mayer, connected with newly minted Gators commitment Xzavier Henderson for a deep ball downfield and capped the drive with a red-zone touchdown to Auburn signee Kobe Hudson. The Clemson five-star signee finished the game as the leading passer with 16 completions for 252 yards and touchdowns.
STOCK DOWN
This week has been a head-scratcher for Davis. The five-star prospect did not rep as much as the other East cornerbacks during practices and when game time came Davis looked like he had plenty of rust still to shake off. The West team picked on Davis immediately, throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan with Davis in coverage where the Clemson signee offered little resistance.
One of the best running quarterbacks in the nation, Hornsby struggled throwing the ball in his opportunities during the first half. When he turned to his legs, he had trouble evading the East team’s pass-rushers. Alabama signee William Anderson cancelled out Hornsby’s top-end speed by crashing in the pocket and corralling the dual-threat.
Scott had a true roller-coaster of a week. He is a fantastic route-runner and has fantastic short-area quickness to separate from defensive backs. However, he was plagued by drops at the West team practices and then had similar results in the first quarter, dropping a pair of passes.
Wedig had a solid week of practice, but he would like to forget his performance in Saturday’s game. The future Wisconsin Badger gave up two sacks in the first quarter to Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee and had trouble all day with the speed of the East defensive ends. Wedig is a big body at that tackle position, but this game performance definitely brings up the question whether he has the athleticism and foot speed to handle Power Five ends.